140. Bob Dylan — “Hurricane” — A good song by a good man doing his part to help out another good man. Songs like this just don’t come along too often.
139. Suzy Bogguss — cover of Tom Russell and Nanci Griffith’s “Outbound Plane” — A little extra production isn’t always a bad thing. Here, it helps a strong folk song soar to the next level.
138. Traveling Wilburys — “Not Alone Anymore” — A wonderful Roy Orbison track from his all-too-brief time with the Wilburys.
137. Weird Al Yankovic — “The Saga Begins” — Parodies work best when the comic likes the source material, and there are enough details here to make me suspect that Weird Al kinda likes “The Phantom Menace” (or at least “Star Wars”).
136. Marvelous 3 — “Every Monday” — Butch Walker is one of the few artists who can write lyrics that break your heart and make you laugh at the same time. “I was f***** up by 5/ Talkin’ nothin’ but jive/ Told the bartender he’d never take me alive/ All of this because my favorite show got canceled last night on TV.”
135. The Moffatts — “Misery” — For a song about being let down, it has a heckuva buildup to the chorus.
134. Matchbox 20 — “Back 2 Good” — MB20 encapsulates the feeling of being sad in a supposedly happy place, like at a party with friends: “‘Cause everyone here/ Knows everyone here is thinkin’ ’bout somebody else.”
133. Ray LaMontagne — “Hold You in My Arms” — Ray’s music seems out of place in the 21st century. In a good way.
132. Garbage — “I’m Only Happy When it Rains” — One of my most depressed high school friends loved this song. Depressed people tend to have good taste in music.
131. P.J. Olsson — “Ready for a Fall” — It’s obvious that P.J. has known both love and the crushing fall that comes afterward.
Comments
140, 138, 133# Posted By chance | 7/19/10 5:55 AM